DOJ Unseals H-2A Forced-Labor Indictments in North Carolina and Washington

Overview

• A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina charged Martha Zeferino Jose, Jose Rodriguez Munoz and Jeremy Zeferino Jose on 35 counts tied to trafficking H-2A farmworkers for jobs across Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
• In eastern Washington, prosecutors announced two cases totaling 61 counts that allege extensive visa fraud, victim tampering and related crimes linked to moving hundreds of workers into the state.
• Authorities say one Washington indictment involved 103 fraudulently obtained H-2A visas tied to Marquez Farms, while a second charged four defendants with securing more than 500 visas through a contractor called Harvest Plus.
• Prosecutors allege workers were charged illegal fees, had identity documents seized, were housed in overcrowded and unsafe conditions and, in one instance, were driven in an overheated school bus without water and later denied pay.
• Officials note that forced labor counts carry up to 20 years in prison each, and they describe the prosecutions as part of a wider enforcement push that has included a DOL debarment of Harvest Plus and state license denials.